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| For Men |  | |
| | | Checking Out the Specs | | by Richard W. O'Ffill | Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
I don't happen to be an electrician or a person who can read and understand a blue print for a building project. Serious construction is impossible without design and the details that make the design a reality. Probably the closest that I have come to having to "read the specs" is trying to put together a piece of furniture that comes disassembled or a toy or the grand kids that can sometimes require an engineering degree to put together. The point is that in construction and even in maintaining something that has complex engineering it is normal to have to have the specs.
I began to contemplate this and it dawned on me that perhaps the Christian life because it requires construction and on-going maintenance also requires that we always have the specs on hand for immediate reference. Before we give our lives to Jesus we have developed a world view and an accompanying lifestyle that as a whole incompatible with the life in the Spirit. We basically have to have a complete orientation as to goals, means and methods that enable us to enjoy the salvation that we have in Jesus Christ to the fullest. In one place the Bible says, that our ways are not His (God's) ways nor are our thoughts His thoughts. I heard someone say one time that our normal way of doing things before we came to Christ is so out of phase with Him that when we get it trouble, if we figure out what to do and then do the opposite we would probably be right! Because the new life is so different we need to be retrained so to speak.
The Bible is our book of specs as to what the new life in Christ is all about. The text is "lean and mean" in setting the parameters and measuring values for the Christian life. A person can ignore the specs and put their Christian life together with bubble gum and baling wire but why be satisfied with a cheap imitation? Use the specs! | | |
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